Back In Roma.....

Ciao Tutti!!!!!

I miss everyone at home sooo much!!! MUAH!!!!

For those of you who don't know, last semester was pretty hectic. Let me backtrack and explain how it went.

St. John's University splits up the semester into TWO quarters, which means I have classes every 7 weeks. The first 7 weeks I took a class called "Modern Political Research", which is a Political Theory course. (and again, for those of you who don't know, I absolutley LOVE Political Philosophy, if I wasn't doing IR, I'd be doing that....and I'll probably get my PhD in that.) Anyways, the Professor for this class was AMAZING, and he basically offered me whatever reference or connection I need upon graduation. Score 1 for getting a job from one of his connections in New York. Okay, so that class was easy because he gave all 10 assignmnets on the first day of class, so I finished them early so that I could have a social life. In October I applied to be a Graduate Assistant and a Resident Assistant, both of which I got turned down for...So, I thought to myself, "Well, it was nice being here, but one semester is enough"...In October I had decided to move to New York for January, but then the following Monday I got an email saying "CONGRATS" you're the new GA (Grad Assistant). All of a sudden my tuition is paid for in full, and I'm here full time. Things happen for a reason I guess. Allright, so I start working 20 hours a week, and doing projects galore. Then the second quarter rolls around and I get slapped in the face with a hard teacher, a hard syllabus, and two classes that basically kick my ass. I took an International Law class, and a Global Environmental Politics class. I just counted and I had over 50 word documents for the 7 weeks of the course. Ask my mom, when I came home from Italy on Dec. 11th, I was still doing work at home. In the end the hard work paid off, and I ended up with an A- in Law, a B+ in Global, and a Passing grade in Theory (it was a pass/fail course). However, when I got home I realized I didn't want to go back.

As much as it sounds like fun to live abroad, I've found it's not so glamorous as I'd like it to be. The mail takes forever, getting a Permesso is impossible (it allows you to work in Italy and extend your visa), you CAN'T work in Italy because of the way the system is set up, and the crazy schedule I have won't allow me to teach Italian. The housing is like living in San Fran or New York, and St. John's is terrible at giving you loans back to you in a timely fashion.

For those of you who missed Mom and Dad's 25th anniversary party, boy did you miss out on a shindig!!!! It was amazing...to the extent that it made me never want to leave Fresno. And for some of you, you know how excited I was to leave home. I was excited for a new chapter in my life. I love Rome, but it's just not my city. It's one of those things, it's nice to VISIT, but not to live.

Anyways, while I was sad about living home, I found that good things were to come. I have new classes, a new teacher, and a new living arrangement. No more noisy dorms at 4am, my own fridge, my own cooking appliances, and most important, my OWN bathroom!!!! So now things are wonderful...sorta.

This semester I'm taking four classes. The first quarter I'm taking an American Foreign Policy course, and an International Relations-Global Politics class. This teacher is supposed to be the hardest in the department, but he's changed his standards so guess what...I'll have a 4.0 this quarter!!! He said, turn it in on time then you get an A, miss the deadline you will FAIL! ahh! So this weekend I was planning on getting that started!

However...the apartment I moved into is sorta problematic. The stove still doesn't work, the laundry is unreliable, and the construction wakes me up in the morning. Not so great. Sometimes I have to work late, so I'd like to sleep in, but unfortunatley, the banging is literally right next to my headboard. I would love to post pictures of this apartment, but why get your hopes up when I'm moving somewhere else this weekend. I found a spot, and it's right next to Piazza Navona. If you look at a map of Rome, it's on the left side of the piazza towards the center. It's expensive, but look at it this way, it's like living off of Times Square or Central Park in New York. The place is tiny, and this weekend I will post pictures of it.

The place I'm at now, I must take the Metro from Lepanto station to Valle Aurelia (which is like 3 stops) then walk to the bus stop and take the bus 4 or 5 stops depending on where I pick it up. I've become friends with the night bus-man, Antonio. The bus stop across from my house is a little ways away from my street, and sometimes at night I'm the only one on the bus. Whenever that happens he always blows by the stop and lets me off literally on my street. He's a nice old man! Yesterday he told me he only does it for those who are "piu che bella"....and i'm so "che carina" that he must do it for "tua madre"....which is something like "you're so pretty and cute that you mother would appreciate it"....My Italian is getting better!

Okay, so this blog is getting kinda long, so I'll post more stories separatley!

Ciao adesso!
(this is mom's ciao for now saying in italian!)